What is Bloomwash?
A watercolor painting app for iPad and iPhone. Every stroke runs through a physical simulation of water and pigment on paper, so the paint spreads, pools, granulates and dries the way real watercolor does. It is a place to paint, not a photo filter.
Do I need an Apple Pencil?
No. You can paint with a finger and reach everything. An Apple Pencil adds pressure and tilt, so a light touch lays a faint mark and leaning the pencil over widens the brush, but it is not required.
Does it work on iPhone as well as iPad?
Yes. The same painting works on both. Brush size is measured as a fraction of the sheet, so a stroke covers the same part of the picture on either device. The iPad simply gives you a larger surface to work on.
How does the masking fluid work?
Pick the Mask tool and paint over the parts of the paper you want to keep white. Those areas show a soft amber tint so you can see the resist. Switch back to the brush and wash freely over the top. When you are ready, tap Lift the mask and the covered areas come back as clean white paper with crisp edges.
My paint looks very wet, or very light. How do I control it?
Open the tools tray and use the Water and Paint levels for the brush, and the Drying and Edge settings for the whole sheet. If you would rather not fiddle, tap Delicate, Classic or Bold to set the whole feel at once.
What are Delicate, Classic and Bold?
Three starting points for the feel of the paint. Delicate is a thin, slow, soft wash, which is how a fresh sheet opens. Classic is a fuller everyday watercolor. Bold is wet and heavily loaded with a hard drying edge. Each one sets water, paint, drying and edge together, and you can adjust from there.
How do I keep or share a painting?
Save it to the gallery to come back to later, or use the share button to export a finished image or a timelapse video of how it was painted. Clearing the sheet does not touch anything you have already saved.
Which paper should I choose?
Hot press is smooth and good for fine, even work. Cold press has a gentle tooth that catches a little pigment. Rough has heavy texture that breaks a dry stroke and pools color in the dips. You can change the paper at any time from the sheet menu in the top bar.
Is my work private?
Completely. Bloomwash runs entirely on your device. There is no account, no sign in, and nothing is sent anywhere. Your paintings stay on your device until you choose to export or share them. See the privacy page for the detail.
Get in touch through activedevelopment.co.nz and tell us what you were doing and what happened. Screenshots or an exported timelapse help a lot.